Addison - the BIG Sister!

Addison's going to be a Big Sister somewhere around March 14, 2012. Although, if you ask her, there's no "going to be" involved - she already IS a Big Sister in her mind!


I'm Addison O'Neill. I'm a Big Sister!
Addison has been introducing herself (as her full name) for the past several months. However, once we introduced the concept that she is going to be a Big Sister to her back in late July, she has been introducing herself to EVERYONE as Addison O'Neill, the Big Sister. And I do mean everyone - the checkout lady at Food 4 Less, kids on the playground, friends, etc. It's just a part of her name now!


Introducing Silly Baby to Baby Punky
We found out about O'Neill baby #2 in mid-July. A few days later, I said a couple things to Addison about Mommy having a baby in my belly. She didn't seem that interested or really understanding of it, so we waited until our first prenatal appointment on July 19 to really tell her the news. Tim and Addie met me at the Dr's office after work, and on the way there, Tim was telling her we were going to see Mommy at the Dr and see the baby in my belly.
She was very excited when we went in for the ultrasound. Now, keep in mind I was not even 6 weeks along at this ultrasound, so there wasn't much to look at. But we still pointed the baby out to Addison and she was excited, pointing and saying "There's baby!"


Addison's Announcement 
When it was time to tell the grandparents that a new O'Neill baby was on the way, we wanted Addison to play a big part. So, when I was about 10 weeks along, we arranged to see all 3 grandparents in one weekend. On the Friday night, I wrote a poem to put on a card that Addison decorated for each grandparent. Grandma Simon came down to babysit on Saturday and on Sunday, Grandma G and Grandpa O'Neill and co. came over to swim in the pool. Shortly after they each arrived, we  told them Addison made them something. Addison handed her the card enthusiastically - although I'm not sure she totally got what was going on. We tried to get Addie to announce it as the card was being read, but she wasn't participating. When they each got about halfway down the message on the card, they got it.


This is what the card said:
I know something you don't know!


Over the fall and through the snow
In Mommy's belly, my baby brother or sister will grow
Yes, I'm going to be a big sister, and today is the day I can let you know!


On Monday morning, Addison wore her new "Big Sister" outfit over to Auntie Lorie's. Before we even got inside she saw the shirt and was so excited. The Simon cousins were all excited to as we shared the news with them as well. Apparently for weeks before, Addison had been saying that she was gonna be a big sister and there's a baby in mommy's belly - so they weren't completely surprised!
The final act of Addison's Announcement was for the Facebook world, in this video:

Addison loves watching this video of herself - and we love watching it too. It is already putting tears and my eyes and I can only imagine what it will do to me years from now when Addison and Baby Punkin have grown up together. It will be a great keepsake, that is for sure!


Follow Baby Punkin's developments here: www.babypunky.blogspot.com

Addison - the 2-Year Old, July edition!

July was a very busy month, as a part of our very busy summer of 2011! The month was full of some great family activities and get togethers.

"Happy Birthday Ly!"

That is how Addison says, "Happy 4th of July!"
This was really Addison's first 4th of July that she's been able to enjoy all it has to offer.
The holiday weekend fun started on the Thursday night - the Schaumburg Park District had a 4th of July Flag Scavenger Hunt. It was a cute little activity with tons of toddlers running around finding flags in a playground that was set up like a little downtown. After that, all the kids got ice cream and then ran around like crazy in the big playground.
Then on Sunday we went to the 4th of July Festival in Hoffman Estates. Just a few rides, a couple games and of course some funnel cake!
On Monday, 4th of July, we headed up to Rolling Meadows for Addison's first 4th of July parade! She loved getting all the candy thrown at her. The best part, was Bluecoats drum & bugle corps was in this parade. When I saw them coming down the street, I took Addie to get a better look and she was SO excited! She yelled, "Look Mommy! Drum corps outside!" Addison loved the drumline and kept "drumming" afterwards. She still does it if we ask her what drum corps does!
Shortly after we got home from the parade, Grandma G and the gang came over to go swimming in the pool. Afterwards we ordered some pizza while Addie had a post-swim nap.
Come sunset, it was time to head over to Lake Park high school for Addison's first fireworks! There were some smaller fireworks going off in neighboring communities that Addison was really excited about. It was fun teaching her what a firework was, as she's never seen them before. But, when it was time for the main show, she got real scared and jumped up into Daddy's lap and hid her head. But she kept peaking out, and finally she sat up and watched all the fireworks. She really liked the green ones and the sparkly ones. She kept talking about fireworks for weeks afterwards. How they go BOOM, and Daddy "keeps my safe." Such an adorable memory with her!
On Tuesday, the 5th, I had the day off of work, so I took her to Pirate's Cove Children's Theme Park in Elk Grove Village. It's such a cute place and Addie had a blast, even though it was 90 degrees there and she hadn't napped. There's a little train that gets pushed around, but the kids get to spin the wheel on their own car. Addie went on that ride about a dozen times! She also loved the choo-choo train that we would just sit in and go around and around. The best part was the Pirate Show - just a cute lil skit, but at the end all the kids get to come up on stage and help. Got the most adorable video of Addison trying to act along!!! It's on Facebook, if you haven't seen it yet! Addison's lack of nap finally caught up to her so I had to coax her out of the park after a good 3 hours there.
The rest of the weekend was filled with trips to the parks, our swimming pool and her toddler swimming pool in the back yard.

Drum Corps!

For the few readers out there who may NOT know this about me, I'm a big band dork. I was in my high school marching band for 5 years and then went straight into 5 years of marching in Phantom Regiment, a drum & bugle corps based in Rockford. I am in love with the activity, obviously - so of course, when it peaked Addison's interest in the summer of 2010, I was in heaven. Her first exposure was the 2008 Phantom Regiment world championship DVD that I just happened to watch one evening with a drum corps friend who was visiting. It caught Addie's attention - her eyes were fixed on the screen and she was clapping along. Well, that turned into one of her favorite things to watch for several months! In that time she learned how to say "drum corps."
So, when I planned a visit up by my mom in Madison, I happened to see that there was a drum corps show going on that night. Phantom Regiment wasn't there, but I was very excited to give Addison her first live drum corps experience. She loved it! When we passed drumlines warming up on our walk to the stadium she exclaimed, "Look, Mommy! Drum corps - right there!"
She loved watching the shows, although she was a little antsy having to sit still in the stands so we had to go out for a few walking breaks. During the shows she kept asking me to go down there - she wanted to go with the corps! Then, when the entire competition was over, she said, "Awwww, where's drum corps? Want more!" Gotta love that!

Call the Zoo! 

Addison went to two Zoo's in July. First, we went to Cosley Zoo in Wheaton for the first time. It's $3/adult zoo, so we thought we'd check it out as it's closer and WAY cheaper than Brookfield Zoo! We had a really nice time! They had mostly farm/local animals. But is was more than enough to keep Addison interested and entertained the two hours we were there. Her favorite part was hanging out by the duck pond and watching all of them swim around. There was even a feeding time that Addie was able to partake in!
Then, when we were up visiting my mom again at the end of the month, we went to Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison which is a free zoo. It's a good size and they have a lot of large animals just like a major zoo. There was a play area and train that Addie loved too. She got to feed some goats, and Tim liked that part too :)
Sometime this fall we may hit up Brookfield Zoo or even Lincoln Park Zoo in the city (which is also free!) just to say we did it all. Addison really likes animals and has mastered most of the names, etc. She gets really excited when they are active and asks constant questions about what they are doing.

Fun with Friends! 

Addison is very social and friendly. When we are out and about in our neighborhood, she's always pointing out kids and interested in what they are doing. When we are at the playgrounds, she's not shy and goes up to the kids and wants to play. There is one girl, a 16-month old that we frequently run into at "Lil Park." Addison has started to call her "my friend"! Funny thing, is that this little girl is Polish (I think) and her mother barely speaks English. So it's funny to watch Addison talk to her and not even though most 16-month-olds don't have a big vocabulary, this little one probably really has no idea what Addison is saying. Yet they still play together.
At the end of the month, we had a friends get-together at Whitnall Park up in Milwaukee. It was all my high school friends, most of us who now have children. A great excuse to all get together and have our kids all play together. Addison had a blast! She played well with all the kids, and even all the adults! It's so fun to see her with kids who are younger than her and my friend Chelsea's newborn baby! Addison looks so huge and all grown up! When I see my friends' little girls who are only a year younger than her, it's amazing to see the difference! Even weirder is how I barely remember what Addison was like at that age. I have to go back to pictures or this blog to remember, since I'm so caught up in the every day-ness of raising Addison.
I hope that there are more functions like this in the future for Addison to get together with a lot of kids to play. It's a really fun experience for her!

All in all, it's been a great and busy summer. We have a lot of busy weekends in August too, but I'm hoping fall slows down a bit so we can take advantage of some of the great local activities and attractions. Until next time!!!!

Addison - the 2 Year Old, June edition

So I realized it was time to change my blog entry titles. Sadly, the "by month" labels just don't work anymore. Who says "25-month old" or even "2-year 1-month old?" Yup, Addison is a kid now. Just a 2 year old.
But enough of the melodrama from this mama - let's take a look at how Addison is enjoying the summer and life as a 2-year old!

Birthdays and Celebrations
June was a busy month full of celebrations. Coming off of Addison's big birthday bash, just 3 weeks later was Mommy's birthday followed by Father's Day, plus Auntie Taylor's 8th grade graduation party was mixed in there too! Addison was very sweet on my birthday as well as Father's Day, helping to bring each of us breakfast in bed and saying "happy birthday" and "happy father's day" very well.

Backyard!
We are certainly getting out money's worth in our "new" backyard as well as all the outdoor toys! We spend time in the backyard almost every evening, mostly playing bubbles and hide 'n seek. The yard is full of entertainment for Addison. We've got a sand and water table, basketball hoop, slide, blow-up pool and tons of bubbles of course.

Plane!
We live about 10 miles from O'Hare and just a few miles from the regional airport in Schaumburg, so we get a lot of air traffic over our house, and Addison will stop what she's doing/saying everytime she hears a plane to locate it in the sky and point it out to us: "Hear plane?" or "See plane?" or "See plane! In the sky! Way up high!" Quite adorable.
Last week, she even started jumping when the planes flew over and then saying "(grunt) Can't reach it!" After a few times, then she started saying "Need bouncy shoes" or "Need Mousketool" and then calling for Toodles (for those of you not in the know, that is from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show that Addison watches almost every morning). That may mean she watches it a bit too often ;)

Hide 'N Seek
Addison's current favorite past time is a good old fashioned game of Hide N Seek. If you've never seen/heard of Lucky Louie/Louis C.K. - watch this and it is exactly Addison's version of Hide N Seek. Hilarious!
But yes, in our world, we play Hide N Seek in the backyard and Addison will tell us to hide by the bushes, counts (1, 2, 11, 14 is her usual cadence) and then will come find us. She plays along quite well, even though we are standing in plain sight, and think aloud: "Where's Mommy? Hmmm..." complete with the finger on the lip and everything! She'll look under the slide and a few other places, narrating the whole time: "Is Mommy under the slide??? Nooooooo....." It can be tiring, but it really is fun and thankfully we've caught it on video a few times. The funniest took place during a short drive home, when Addison decided to strike  up a game of hide and seek in the car! If you haven't seen it yet, check it out here (hopefully that link works!)

Other Fun Stuff We Did - Rose Fest, pool
June was a very fun month and we enjoyed the start of summer to the fullest. We are regulars at Green Park and Little Park (Addie's names for the two playgrounds down the path from us). We've gone swimming several times and have spent nearly every evening in the backyard playing with all the aforementioned toys! July is shaping up to be even busier and I can't wait to share all the fun everyone!

Zoie
I hate to end a blog entry this way, but it felt wrong to post this first, and follow it with all our fun little updates.
As many of you may have already heard, our good friends Garry & Jacqui lost their little girl this month in a tragic pool accident. The thought of it still sends chills down my spine. Each day that I look at Addison and see her grow up by the minute, I am more and more thankful for all these precious moments, as routine and normal as they seem.
Zoie was just 9 months younger than Addison, and they played together several times. It's crazy to look at the pictures we have of Addie & Zoie playing together, and think that we'll only see one of those little girls grow up.
It goes against nature for a parent to lose a child, it's just not supposed to happen that way. We pray for little Zoie as well as Garry & Jacqui everyday to be strong and get through this tragedy together. I often times try and put myself in their shoes - how I would feel if this happened to Addison. My thoughts don't get too far before I simply shudder because I can't comprehend the pain and sorrow that surrounds them.
I don't have a message that I'm trying to get across with this blog post, I am simply using it as an outlet to express my thoughts about this heartbreaking situation that I still can't believe is real. I've read articles about tragedies like this, and while they conjured up sadness and fear - I assumed the instances were so rare and that's why it made news! But here it happened in our very own circle of friends.
Life will go on for all of us. I'll stop seeing Addison through these tragedy-filled goggles soon and go back to seeing her as just my daughter. But I think anyone who knows this story, especially any parent, will file this away in the back of their mind - to always remember that a child is a blessing their entire life. No matter how long the life or if you are there when the life ends. Your child will always be your baby, in Heaven as they were on Earth.
Rest in Peace, Zoie.

Addison - the TWO YEAR OLD!

Addison, Addie, Silly Baby, Addie Grace, Little Lady. However you've grown to know her - that little girl is now two years old.

I'm not so much in shock that SHE is 2, because she is such a two-year old! Learning dozens of words a week, being so curious, having so much happy energy, etc. It's the fact that it's been two whole years since I was pregnant. Since I was in labor and giving birth to her!

But enough about me and my mothery lamenting...Onto the good stuff!

2 Year Check-Up
Height

36" - 95th percentile
Weight

28 lbs. 4oz. - 75th percentile
Head size
18 1/2" - 40 percentile

Addison was very good at this check-up. When the doctor came in, he warned that kids her age typically don't like the doctor. But Addison was very interested in everything the doctor was doing, especially when he listened to her heartbeat with the stethoscope! Dr. Michael was very impressed and said all looks good! She's had a mild rash on her neck the past couple weeks that we can put lotion on and it should clear up.

Potty Training

We briefly discussed potty training at the Dr. appointment and he said at this point to not force it too much on her. Which is very true because she was gradually making progress on her own in those first few months when we left it entirely up to her. But as we got closer to the 2-year mark, I wanted to kick it up a notch and start making visits to the potty a routine thing. Well, that soon was met with resistance from Addison. She still goes a few times a week, but now when it's bath time she'll say "no potty!" right away, since I started telling her to go on the potty everytime she had a bath. So I backed off a little, and now she does always at least sit on the potty as the bath is getting ready  - most of the time she does go!
So for now, we'll take it easy, but always keep it part of the conversation at least.

Toddler Bed

The week of Addison's 2nd birthday, we converted her crib into a toddler bed. She loves it! She goes running into her room and jumps on her bed all the time. At bedtime, she loves that now Tim and/or I can cuddle with her when we say good night. She rotates who she wants to "cuddle me." The other parent will give her kisses, and then she will tell us to give the cuddling parent a kiss too. Then we'll lay with our head on the pillow next to her for a few minutes. She even puts her arm around our neck and nuzzles her nose against our face. I LOVE that :)

The first couple nights, she would get out of her bed on her own, and come sneaking downstairs by us. Somehow she just knew she had to "sneak." We'd hear the door open and the hallway floor creep, but it would take her several minutes to come down the stairs - and when she did, she'd be peeking around the corner all smiley like she knew she was being sneaky! What a goof!
She did fall out of the bed once, it's only about a foot off the floor. She cried but when we went in there, she was still sleeping - so we just put her back in the bed and she was fast asleep and no more crying. We're getting a toddler rail to protect her from that!

Birthday Weekend!
Thursday, May 26
Mommy had a 1/2 day on Thursday so Addison was only at Auntie Lorie's til about 1:30. From there we went to the Dr. for her 2-year check-up. Then the rest of the evening we just played at home, some good Mommy & Addie time since Daddy was running a race in downtown Chicago!
Friday, May 27

On Addison's actual birthday on Friday, Mommy had the day off of work and made her blueberry pancakes and bacon when she woke up. I gave her a pretty sweet set-up in the living room with a breakfast tray right in front of her Addison chair so she could eat like a princess while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse of course!
At 10am we went to Sears for her 2-year portraits, which I think turned out REALLY well. The portraits were of course Mickey Mouse themed! After the pictures, we spent about 45-minutes playing in the toy department at Sears. They have a little play "ship" that kids can play with a steering wheel and look out a telescope. Nothing fancy, but Addison loved it! She even attracted a nearby 4-year old to come over and play with her too!
After the pictures we headed home for lunch and a nice long nap!

When Daddy got home from work, we ordered pizza for dinner and opened our presents for her. She LOVED the Melissa & Doug cupcakes - they come with wet erase markers she can decorate with! After dinner we went to Oberweis for ice cream, which is now a Addison birthday tradition! The weather was chilly and rainy so we sat inside, but still enjoyed the fountain outside for a little bit. After ice cream, Addison opened some more gifts she received in the mail, then it was bedtime!

Saturday, May 28th

On Saturday we set up her slide and sand & water table. At first we left them in the kitchen since it was so rainy, but Addison enjoyed playing with them even inside! At night, we were blowing up balloons for decorating her birthday party - and that turned into a whole evening of fun! We blew up balloons then let Addison hold/let go of them so they'd fly around the room. We also played volleyball and baseball with all the different balloons. It was quite the party!

Sunday, May 29th

Addison's 2nd Birthday Party was on Sunday, May 29th. All her grandparents were there as well as her aunts, uncles and cousins. Daddy made burgers, brats, chicken and hot dogs on the grill and we had fruit and snacks set out. Cake was marble with chocolate fudge filling from Deerfields Bakery, served a la mode!

Our house was decked out with balloons and lots of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse decor. Addison herself wore a pink polka dot w/sequins Minnie Mouse party dress, complete with pink polka dot shoes!
The Birthday Girl was a little overwhelmed as everyone filled our house, but soon was very excited to have everyone there. Due to the monsoon-like storm we got just a couple hours before the party started, we were confined indoors until towards the end of the party when all the kids got out for some bubble time on the front porch.

Addie made out very well with TONS of new clothes and toys at her party and had lots of fun!

Monday, May 30th

The weather was finally nice on Monday (Memorial Day) so we were able to take Addison to Turner Park - a large community park down the road in Roselle. There's a fishing pond and a huge playground with fountains, etc. Addison had a lot of fun climbing around and trying the "rides" that were new to her. Plus, we took a nice walk around the pond and saw a bunch of geese and ducks that of course Addie loved to point out to us!

We took full advantage of the nice weather and officially broke in her sand & water table in the backyard. She was soaked! She went on her slide a few times and we even took a walk in her new wagon.

Addison truly had a "birthday week" and it was so much fun sharing in the excitement with her! She certainly understands what a Birthday means now and I'm sure next year will be giddy for weeks ahead of time in anticipation!
We are excited to see what adventures and memories Addison's 3rd year will bring!

Addison - the 23 Month Old!

Wow, this is late! I'm very sorry to any faithful followers out there who have been chomping at the bit waiting for some Addison updates. Never fear, here are some from her 23rd month, and soon, I will be updating on her big 2 mark!

Addison in the Morning
Addison and 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse' are still going strong. As soon as I go in to get her in the morning, she asks to go "night, night here" (which, for her, means to go lay in our bed), and to bring her blankies (ickies) with her. She'll tell me whose pillow she wants to lay on (mommy's or daddy's) and once settled ask for milk. "Milk, please" with a prompt :) She does a pretty good job answering Mickey when he asks questions and gets a lot of the questions correct! I'm sure many are because of repetition, but some are new episodes! So, while I know TV is a big no-no in the world of perfect parenting, I think she's gaining a little education from it. And it sure makes my mornings of getting ready for work much easier. Of course I interact with her as well throughout the entire morning too.

Addie Eats
Most mornings it is a struggle for me to get Addison to eat much of anything. Sometimes it is due to her sleeping in. We leave at 8am to take her to Auntie Lorie's, and sometimes I have to go in to wake her up at 7:30, so there's just not enough time to really sit down and get her to eat. Other mornings, she's just  hyper and wants to run around and play. Other mornings, I think she's just testing her power or "no." Although, she often times eats  breakfast over at Auntie Lorie's - which is the same food - so who knows? I think if her cousins are eating there, she wants to join in. When she does eat, it's usually waffles or cereal or a nutri-grain bar.
Her lunches and dinners are typically lunch meat or Chef Boyardee, yogurt, crackers, fruit, etc. For dinner we do try and get her to eat whatever we are eating and that works like a charm when it's grilled chicken, pasta and veggies. She likes cookies and has been a huge fan of suckers this month, which has resulted in a few tantrums when we've had to say no.

The Great Outdoors
The fickle and wintry weather has been rough on Addison, and us! We went for a ton of evening walks in April, even when it was a little chilly outside. Addison has two playgrounds to choose from, both just a 5-minute walk away. One is bigger and typically has middle school-aged kids running around, while the other is smaller and equipment built for toddlers.

On these walks, Addison gets so excited to see doggies and always points out the planes in the sky. Our destination is usually to the pond where there are tons of geese and ducks that she just loves to watch - especially when they fly!
We have gotten some use out of our backyard, although can't wait for the weather to settle down and get more use out of it! Addison's love of bubbles has grown and she's pretty good at blowing her own bubbles now, although she usually wants Mommy or Daddy to join in on the fun.
Addison enjoys looking out the windows, especially when Mommy or Daddy go for a run, and wave to her from the sidewalk! She still likes to watch the cars drive by, counting them and saying what color they are.

Chatty Addie
Addison is quite the talker! Wonder where she gets that from :) She learns new words everyday and can repeat almost anything. She has a tendency to repeat some phrases over and over, especially when she expects your response or acknowledgement. We are certainly attentive to her when she speaks, but at times we are having our own conversation or in the middle of something and don't respond to her right away and she can get irritated.

The word "no" is quite the battle. While she likes to say it, she doesn't like to hear it - typical of any toddler! We are really working on teaching her the meaning of "wait" or "just a minute." So that she understands our answer technically is Yes, she just needs to be patient.
The other struggle in communication is cause and effect or rewarded behavior. For example, she wants to play bubbles when it's time for breakfast. I tell her that we'll play bubbles after breakfast. She does not understand this and just says "No breakfast...bubbles!" Clearly not understanding that I mean we can do both. That can be very frustrating for me because it delays the entire process because I have to spend so long arguing with her to try and get her to eat, if she would just take a few bites - it would all be over in a few minutes and we'd be out playing bubbles!
I expect, like anything with her these days, that this too shall pass and will become a distant memory. She is really growing and becoming such a sociable and intelligent little girl. We are so proud!

Addison - the 22 Month Old

This month's entry is a special installment. Addison lost her first pet this past week, Pebbles. While I will discuss Addison's personality and growth as usual later on, first I want to share the memories of Addison and Pebbles that she may not remember herself someday.


Pebbles and Addison

Addison had two kitties, Pebbles and Colby Jack. To the world, Colby Jack is the more likeable of the two. He's younger, nicer and more active. Pebbles was crabby and slept most of the time. But there was something about Pebbles that Addison was drawn to. Perhaps it was because Pebbles was a fixture at the foot of the bed, so Addison always knew where to find her. The first time Addison noticed and pointed to a kitty, it was Pebbles. The first time she tried to say "kitty" ("Kkkhhh"), she was talking to Pebbles.

It may have been because of all this notice Addison gave to the kitties, Colby Jack would be startled and run away, while Pebbles didn't seem to care (or have the energy to care!) and would just lay there and take whatever attention and baby babbles Addison would yell at her.
In any case, Addison loved Pebbles and in the past week, she has asked about Pebbles multiple times - and we can almost see the gears turning in her head as she processes what has happened. The night Pebbles was put down, we did not know that was going to happen when we took her to the vet. So I took her on my own, and when the vet gave me the diagnosis, I called Tim so he could come with Addison and say goodbye. They were only there for 20min or so, but Addison gave Pebbles and hug and kiss and we told her to say goodbye. Of course at the time she was just repeating what we were saying, and on the way home with Tim was asking about Pebbles. Tim explained "Pebbles was sick, so we said goodbye." The rest of the car ride she said "Pebbo sick, Pebbo sick."
Over the next several days, in her own toddler way, she was figuring it out. I think it helped that Addison saw Pebbles at the vet before she was put down so we could use it as a point of reference moving forward. She has asked us several time "where Pebble go?" and we say "Pebbles was sick. You gave her a hug and kiss and we said goodbye." To which she nods and said "yea, bye bye Pebbo."
Time heals all wounds and in the near future Addison's confusion will drift away. It breaks my heart that she will most likely have no memory of Pebbles - or that she had to deal with one of life's biggest lessons, and not remember it. I can only hope that somewhere in her mind, this makes sense and she will remember Pebbles and this experience in her own toddler way - even if it's in a way she cannot place when she is older.

Addison Updates

Addison starts her day by cuddling up in our bed and watching 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse' while I get ready for work. She's got quite the nice set-up with blankets and sitting propped up against our pillows. She requests a cup of milk shortly after waking up, and she'll slowly drink that while watching her show. Sometimes she does still come see what I'm doing and want to copy me. Her favorite things to do with me is brush her hair and teeth - and she also puts on makeup! I gave her a clean powder brush and she pretends to put powder her face. So cute!
Her favorite activity the last couple weeks has been watching the cars drive down the busy street behind our house. She'll climb up on a bench we have by the window in our bedroom and point at all the cars driving by. It's been a little bit of a learning activity too since she'll count how many cars, say what color they are, etc. Her other favorite things to see outside are squirrels, geese, ducks, planes and doggies walking!

Addison has been ready for spring weather for the past couple weeks. She's had a few meltdowns because I won't let her wear her rain coat, since it's too cold outside! Last week, I bought her rain boots, a hat and a windbreaker - she wanted to wear them all weekend long, and even put them on several times and just walked around the house like that!

Needless to say, we are all ready for the spring weather to finally arrive. It is going to be a lot of fun in our new surroundings. There is a playground down the street, and a walking path all through the subdivision that goes by a pond. Can't wait to go on nice evening family walks!

That's all for now!

Addison - the 21 Month Old

Referring to Addison by months is starting to seem silly. 21 months? We are so close to the 2-year mark, it's crazy! But what makes it not so hard to believe that Addison will soon be a 2 year-old, is how much she has become a child, no longer a baby.
Let's take a tour of Addison's 21st month!

"Night-Night Here"Not much has changed with Addison's sleeping habits in the past month. She still comes to bed with us in the middle of the night, but not as frequently as last month - which is a welcome change for Mommy & Daddy! She has been watching both "Monsters, Inc" and drum corps again with no nightmares so perhaps that was not the culprit.
One of her favorite games is "night-night here." It started a few months ago as a game in our bed where she would pretend to sleep (and tell us to pretend to sleep too) and then jump up and say "boo!" But now it has morphed into just bopping around on our bed. She "hides" under the blanket (and of course tells us to hide under the blanket too).
Sadly, she has been moving away from storytime some nights in the last few weeks, to just expending all her energy running around right up to bedtime - and then wanting to climb right into her crib (with multiple pacis, of course!). I hope that this is just a phase, as I do enjoy reading her stories.

Potty Training
I think it is time to actually start potty training Addison. We have been very fortunate that Addison took an interest in the toilet on her own, and with only little prompting from us has successfully gone potty about once a week. She has even gone poopy almost a dozen times! It's also becoming very obvious when Addison is or is ready for pooping. She now stops when she is doing and, well,  you know! But I think this will make it very easy for us to communicate with her. She knows all the words and all the actions that go along with it. But now that she is 21 months, I think it is time for us to make going on the potty more of a routine thing, so she understands it's not something she does just when she feels like it, or thinks of it or we ask her to.
She has worn pull-ups several times. The first time, she wanted to take them off right away, so I thought we'd have issues, but since then she has taken to them quite well, probably because they have the Disney princesses on them!

Addie Quirks
Addison certainly likes things a certain way and has her favorite things. I thought I'd create a section in this blog entry dedicated to just that topic. Here's a snapshot of how silly our little lady is!

• While we change her diaper/clothes in the morning and night, she loves to sprint out of her room and dash around the entire upstairs in hopes we try to grab her - to which she squeals in delight!
• When either Mommy or Daddy put her to sleep at night, she demands kisses on each of her cheeks, then requests the other parent to come in and say good night to her too.
• Everything in two's! She has to have two monkeys, two paci's, two piggies, two mickeys, etc etc etc. When we count, she doesn't start counting until the #2. Her current counting structure is "2, 3, 6, 8, 9" :)  I'm seriously curious if there is some diagnosed *quirk* of the obsession of the #2!
• Everything also has to be in too's! "Running too", "Eat too", "Cook too", etc etc etc. She gets VERY upset when we try to get her to do something on her own, or we don't "too" whatever she is demanding. Yikes!
• Mommy & Daddy can't sing! We don't have good voices, I give her that. But whenever we sing along to the radio in the car or at home, she yells "STOP IT!" Ha!
• The girl loves brushing her teeth. She's not very good at it, but she brushes her teeth about 4x a day.

As usual, I know I'm not thinking of all her quirks right now - but she's a very quirky lil girl.

We can't wait for the weather to get warmer, so we can get out more. Cabin fever! Check back next month for more Addie updates!